June 14, 2010
After my services were no longer needed at Pennington Field’s gym, I made my way to Fort Worth, passed downtown back to the Arts District. I really just wanted the area north of the Arts District, which has a litany of auto shops and warehouses that fit our requirements. The issue is that they are all either in use or not for sale or both. I even passed TownSite’s office, nice to know.
I eventually made my way back to my desired destination, 1717 Pennsylvania. I wondered around the site, shooting, studying, counting bricks, and just imagining how to best utilize the site’s assets and shortcomings. Based on my initial findings, the building is about 50’-8” by 24’-0” and 8’-0” tall at the eaves. To the apex of the roof, is approximately 13’-6”. Which, by my math is less than TAD says the building’s area is; 1,216 sf versus TAD’s 1,464 sf. But it looks like we could easily add another unit, maybe 2 to the building, just need to find the minimum rear yard setback (or is it side yard since it is a corner lot?) to determine for sure.
But the final decision on the property is not just up to me. Tomorrow Scott and I will be meeting at UTA Sante Fe to try to make this final decision, viewing many of the properties I had already discovered and hopefully finding new ones.
June 15, 2010
Well, I don’t think this day could have been any more productive given the amount of time allotted. I woke up at the butt crack of dawn to get to downtown by 8 am, even though Scott and I weren’t going to meet until 9. I did this for two reasons; one, I hate traffic and two, I wanted to get a few better photos of 1717 Pennsylvania (in case it becomes the final choice) and some of downtown, either one for the background of this blog. For those who don’t know, the hour or two around sun rise and sun set are the magic times to shoot, plus the clouds (I thought) might be an attractive backdrop. I also took a quick look at the white, once auto shop at 1013 Magnolia. It has good potential for 3 units, 2 regular and 2 small studio.
I beat Scott to school, so I waited in the computer lab. When he arrived, we did some searching online, mainly just mapping out locations that had been scouted prior. We happen to drive right by Robert Kelley Architects and made that our first stop. We were hoping that maybe they might know of potential properties for sale, but Gina gave us Eddie Vanstan’s number and suggested he would be a better person to speak with for that information. She also mentioned that he was in a meeting at that moment, a closing to be exact.
One of our stops was 1013 Magnolia, where Scott called the number on the sign hung on one of the posts in front of the building. The sign was for a remodeling/construction contractor, Casey Smith. Casey suggested we take a look at 2510 Hemphill, as it is probably “one of the most interesting buildings you will find.” Well, it was definitely interesting. Part of the roof was missing in the rear, creating a courtyard. The building right next door, attached, had no rear walls or a roof and a gaping hole for an entrance. I loved the billboard painted brick in that space and thought it would make a lovely space for a café. Scott pointed out the tracks immediately behind the property, mentioning the blaring horns as the trains passed through the intersection. But this property was too far south and would not meet the demographic or price point we are looking for.
As I was directing Scott towards this little dive I found, he just stopped and stared at this lovely building, an empty retail center that matched our criteria. I had driven by it, even stopped and looked at the site right next door. I guess I was looking too hard for a more industrial/auto shop type building. He pulled over into its tiny parking area, pulled out his phone and called the leasing broker listed on the sign in the window. Scott came out and asked what the sale price would be. The broker quoted a price of $500,000, steep but manageable considering the building could easily fit 5 really large units or maybe 6-7 much smaller units depending on zoning (minimum window distance to adjacent buildings). Also, the price might be inflated, especially if the seller isn’t really motivated or doesn’t really want to sell the property. But as we keep saying and hearing “everybody has their price.” We also think that we can talk the owner down in price.
Scott was on the phone awhile and was able to get most of the leasing materials emailed to us. These materials include a survey, floor plan, and map (not that we really need the map). The more we walked around it, the more we liked it. The units would be about 13-14 feet wide, but up to 87+ feet deep. Overall the building is approximately 1,636 sf, 87’-8” by 70’-0”. Total area per unit would be around 1,200 sf, with rents of probably $1,400 / month ($1.17/sf). More units are possible, 6 to 7, still meeting the approximate 800 square feet requirement. The building is also in great shape and would need minimal renovation work.
We viewed a couple of the other properties I had run across, but it was hard to take most of them seriously after seeing 1612 Park Place. That meant 1717 Pennsylvania was out…OK by me. I do still like that little property however, just not for this project.
By this point we both needed something to eat. Paris Coffee Shop was our best option for something healthier than Jack in the Box. Just as we were sitting down, Dr. Forgey texted me, asking if we were still in the area and wanted to join him for lunch. So he ended up joining us. Over our meal, we were able to tell him about the gem we had just found and describe it to him.
Immediately after our meal we headed over to Fort Worth South, where we met Mike Brennan. He was a wealth of information, from historical tax credits to the urban plan for Park Place. I wish I could remember more about this meeting, but I got distracted with a phone call call (one that led to a job interview). He also explained what “demo delay” was. It is when a building is scheduled for demolition, but may have historical significance and that demo is delayed. The delay is to allow for negotiation, repositioning, basically giving the property a fighting chance to remain as is. Mr. Brennan said it is the lowest form of a historic property.
We did drive through the Arts District, but again it was hard to view any other properties, giving them the justice they deserve. Once you’ve had a fillet, a cube steak just won’t cut it anymore. Ok, I really don’t believe that, but I do think we found a property that just might work on all the required levels.
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